Maurizio Cattelan: WE

Leeum Museum of Art is pleased to present WE, a solo exhibition by Maurizio Cattelan (b. 1960, Padua, Italy) from January 31 through July 16, 2023. Comprised of 38 works from the three decades since his emergence in the 1990s, this is the Italian artist’s first solo exhibition in South Korea, and the largest survey of his oeuvre since his 2011 retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Taking place in the lobby and across the three floors of M2 at Leeum, WE features works of sculpture, mural, photography, and installation that embody the artist’s deadpan humor, defiance, and provocation. On view are animal taxidermy works such as Ghosts (2021) and Bidibidobidiboo (1996), hyperreal effigies including La Nona Ora (1999), and variations of self-portraits like Untitled (2001), Charlie (2003), and We (2010). WE also brings forth some among the most stimulating works by Cattelan—Him(2001), an effigy of a boy with Adolf Hitler’s face kneeling in prayer and Comedian (2019), a banana duct-taped to a wall that stirred a chain of controversies when debuted at the 2019 Art Basel Miami Beach.

Cattelan’s hyperrealistic sculptures and paintings are straightforward and recognizable, while also cleverly and stealthily appropriating art history and popular culture. Strewn with satirical and cynical anecdotes, his works audaciously demand us to confront uncomfortable truths and overturn our foundations of perception. Distancing himself from the role of an artist who preaches or enlightens, Cattelan voluntarily caricatures and offers himself up to accusations of fraud, ridicule and criticism. Ironically, the very antics that garnered him a reputation as a provocateur, prankster, and even a swindler at times, render him a keen critic of reality piercing through human nature and contemporary society. From all corners of the exhibition, the gaze of multiple Cattelans as intruder, police officer, priest, criminal, artist, and boy invite us to partake in a Cattelanesque theater of human comedy and the provocative jokester intricately mobilizes Chaplin-style comic devices throughout the space, forging wistful bonds in the face of the cruelty of life. 

WE, the title of the exhibition, borrowed from one of the artist’s works, is more than a simple reference to the piece; it questions what exactly is meant by the word: Who are "we"? What makes us who "we" are? And how are "we" related? Cattelan's practice challenges us to reflect on these questions while considering the notions of oppression, anxiety, authority, religion, love, family, life and death, altogether encouraging deeper conversations and facilitating greater solidarity. An image of a pope struck down by a meteorite (La Nona Ora, 1999) resonates beyond the religion and region it represents, ushering in a broader debate on the meaning of authority and oppression. The nine Carrara marble sculptures reminiscent of corpses (All, 2007) commemorate and remind us of a recent tragedy nearby, circling us back to our stark realities and gently touching our lives.

Curated by Sungwon Kim, Chief curator and Deputy director, Leeum Museum of Art.
Assisted by Heyeon Kim, Curator, with Jungmin Lee, Curatorial assistant, Leeum Museum of Art.

Press contact: Miso Han, Public Relations Team, T +82 2 2014 6553 / miso.han@samsung.com